Yeah. With all the big uglies lately, I figured we needed to find ways to boost our effective firepower. One idea that came to mind was combination attacks. If you're up to it, Ive got an idea that could warrant investigation in the sim.

"Shouldn't you be discussing this with Shara instead?"

Since when does she drive the Cybuster?

"She doesn't. But don't you think this might piss her off? Just a little?"

I don't recall us ever being paired off.

"I think you two are the only people in the entire galaxy that haven't figured it out yet... whatever. I'm interested in whatever you've come up with, but it's not on my head when she comes for blood."

(JayBee, I hereby challenge you to an honorable duel of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The prize is Cybuster himself!

...Nah, I'm kidding. But I at least want visitation rights on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and every other weekend.)

Derek: *Waves at Cybuster as he walks up* Yo, Andoh. You look much better, man.

Masaki: *Sits down at the table* Thanks. You look a lot better than I thought you would, honestly.

Derek: *Shrugs* I try. Anyway, now that Masaki's here, who wants me to go into the gritty details of what I did while I was gone?

Kuro: You might as well, meow.

Shiro: Yeah, we know you're gonna tell us anyway, so just go ahead.

Derek: And people wonder why I like you guys. Alright, so....

*Flipping up the keypad on his ARC, Derek messes around with it for a second and pulls up a holographic image of the Earth and the moon. He then points at the blue line travelling up offworld towards Luna.*

Derek: This was my starting route, when I took off with Haruka and Fuyume. Pretty standard stuff, so I won't waste time with further details on it.

Masaki: Huh. I didn't know you could use that hologram thing for stuff other than Fuyume.

Derek: I usually don't, but I've found that visuals help when telling a recap. Now, anyway. *Adjusts the hologram to start zooming in on the moon* Alexis was calling from Cerevis City. I assume you guys all remember that place.

Kuro: Yeah, it's where Mao Industries is based, meow.

Derek: And the talking cat gets the point. *Follows the blue line from the landing point over to the Cerevis marker* Unfortunately....*A red line appears nearby and heads for the same spot*...Dark Moon had the same idea.

Masaki: How many were there?

Derek: Enough that I now owe Irm a favor. Never again will I doubt the usefulness of the Gust Wing. Now, before all this, Alexis had gotten the hell out of town, and Haruka and Fuyume went after her while I was busy taking care of the pursuit force. *Starts following a blue line leading away from Cerevis* 'Scythe was still messed up from the battle at Mao's, so I was really hoping I wouldn't run into any more trouble. Naturally, this was not meant to be.

*An entire circle of red appears around the blue line when it reaches a point out in the middle of nowhere*

Shiro:...Ouch.

Derek: Yeah. That pretty much sums up my reaction, only without the cursing. That was where they showed off the new Deathscythe Guilty models they had, too.

Masaki: So, how'd you get out of that one? You go all badass in the critical moment like you usually do?

Derek:....Actually....

Kuro: What's wrong, meow?

Derek:...You're gonna hate me, Andoh.

Masaki: C'mon, we're friends. What could you possibly say that would make me hate yo--

Derek: *Cuts him off* Shu saved me.

*On the hologram, one purple dot suddenly appears on the field, and the red circle is instantly wiped out.*

Masaki:......

Derek: At first, I thought he'd just wanted to waste me personally, but all he did was laugh when I called him on it. Shu told me that you guys were planning on storming the Titan's base in Canada, and then he took off. No threats, no cryptic warnings, no nothing. He just saved my ass and then left.

Masaki:.....

Derek: I'm not gonna pretend that I trust the guy, but the fact is he saved my life. So...

Masaki:....Tch. He probably thinks I owe him one, now. Well, screw that. He shows up, and I'm kicking his ass. So, then what happened?

Derek:...Wait, you're not mad at me?

Masaki: Why would I be? It's not like you hid the fact that he showed up or anything. I might have been pissed if you'd done that, but not if he just rescued you and left. Anyway, go on.

Derek:......Right, totally wasn't expecting that. But hey, works for me. Anyhow, I headed off to Lovell City first, to try and catch up to the girls. Unfortunately, they were in too much of a hurry to disappear to leave me any clues to follow them with. I didn't have anything else to go on, and I knew that more DM punks would be on my tail soon, so I decided to try taking Shu's advice and spacedrop onto Canada. Good thing I did, cause they caught up to me right on the edge of the atmosphere. So I gave them all the bird and dropped. You guys know the rest. *Shuts off the hologram projector*

Masaki: Sounds like a fun trip.

Derek: Yeah, it was surprisingly pleasant for one of my outings.

Masaki: So, I assume you want to go after the girls, huh?

Derek: Yeah, I'm probably gonna call for volunteers for that one when we get back to HQ. In the meantime, more drinking on Sakura's tab!

Masaki: I can get behind that. Barkeep!

dragonmasterjb0: Apparently, in the new series, Lina is arrested at one point on charges of being Lina Inverse.

The rest of the party, in typical Slayers fashion, gives a reaction to the effect of "Sounds reasonable."

Unfortunately, I can't seem to remember much about the place, just that it's a massive space station in the middle of a thick debris field, using Mirage Colloid to keep itself disguised. Never let myself near a window when we're there, just so nobody can drag its location out of me.

"Indeed it does Derek; we'll be there shortly and you can take the whole tour yourself '

as Gai said this the Akagane was entering the debris field in which the station waited invisible to the naked eye.. As before a signal was sent which caused the dock to appear. The Akagane entered; turning and docking between the Metatron and the Duragreitz.

Well hey, this looks like a pretty nice place. Now, I think I'm gonna have a look around while I have the cha--

*Stops cold when he sees the Nahal Duragreiz*

What.

The.

FU--

"Welcome back, Derek."

.....Bright. Nice to see you again. Mind explaining this?

"We had to do some upgrades. Read the mission report on the attack on the Storm Gun."

WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY ROBOT TRINITY DID YOU PEOPLE DO TO MY SHIP?!?!

"Calm down. We survived, even if we did take a direct hit from the cannon."

DIRECT HIT FROM THE--Oh Luna. The Silver Magnum! It's gone! AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO PUT THE REVOLVER BARREL ON IT!!!! WHY DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME SO?!?!?!

"Actually, we didn't lose that."

.....We didn't?

"No, it had been removed so the techs could modify it to put in that barrel of yours. It's still being worked on."

So, I just had part of that freakout for absolutely nothing. Okay, I can deal with that. Still, this gross negligence cannot be ignored. Captain, I hereby order you to Brightpunch the men who went with you to destroy the Storm Gun!

"Can it wait until later on? I'm still on duty right now. I really only came out here to show you the refit to the ship, but if you're going to react like this...."

.....Sorry, Bright. It's just been a really stressful trip. Didn't mean to completely lose it on you, there.

Standard cryptology lesson, that one. Don't worry, I know the code. Go get the ship ready. We're taking off in a few.

"Right. Let me know when you're set."

*As Bright walks off, Derek calmly walks over to the PA comm and flips it on*

"Attention, all AGGF and other assorted Vahalla personel. This is Derek Zerus Barona, leader of the mercenary group Blue Wings and ranking second-in-command of the force. If you don't know who I am, just know that I'm one of the guys who makes this place worth hanging around. Pleasantries aside, I'm hereby calling for volunteers from the pilots of our group to come with me on a rescue and recovery operation. The details will be explained along the way, but it's a pretty good bet that the trip will end in a battle somewhere. If anyone's willing to come with, they need to report to the Duragreiz with their respective mechs immediately. Thank you.

*Cuts the PA*

.....Alright. Now, let's see. I need to get 'Scythe moved onto the 'Greiz, and find out where they stashed Shining and Alex....

dragonmasterjb0: Apparently, in the new series, Lina is arrested at one point on charges of being Lina Inverse.

The rest of the party, in typical Slayers fashion, gives a reaction to the effect of "Sounds reasonable."